Grade Seven Cont'd.

but wait, there's more...

The Challenge: Practicing your skills Listed below are links to a variety of subjects featuring invasive species, unusual marine creatures and Alien visitation. Click on the picture to access the article and worksheet of your choice.

Frankenfish

The Northern Snakehead is an interesting creature with some very bad habits. It possesses unique abilities not found in many freshwater fish species and has begun its attack on the freshwater ponds, lakes and tributaries in the Northern part of the United States. This is another invasive species that you will learn more about in this brief but informative article. Click on the image of Frankenfish in order to access the article and worksheet.

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The Amazing Octopus (YouTube.com)

The octopus is one of the most intelligent and unusual creatures in the marine ocean realm. It has a wide array of talents and abilities which has allowed it to adapt to a variety of environments covering a period of almost 500 million years. This YouTube video features one of the most comprehensive studies on octopus intelligence conducted by a group of scientists in the Mediterranean Ocean. Click on the tab in order to access the video, design activity and the worksheet.

​Sharklet Industries (YouTube.com) The very mention of the word "shark" evokes images of a fiercesome oean predator with mandibles of death and lifeless black eyes waiting for its next victim. These creatures have ruled the oceans for millions of years and yet they possess some very interesting adaptations. In this brief but information packed video we will learn more about shark skin and man's efforts to learn more about this remarkable shark feature. Click on the image of the shark in order to access the video and the worksheet.

Strange Days on Planet Earth- Invaders This video series produced by National Geographic and narrated by Ed Norton features a variety of case studies revealing the dangers of introducing an invasive species into an ecosystem. In the first video students will learn how the introduction of the water hyacinth into Africa's Lake Victoria seriously affected the health of those people living on its shoreline. Click on the tab in order to access the 53 min. video and the worksheet.

Hydrothermal Vents (YouTube.com) The hydrothermal vent was recently discovered along the Ring of Fire in the Pacific Ocean. Scientists were amazed to discover a completely new ecosystem never seen before. Living in a toxic wasteland of boiling water filled with toxic elements from deep within the Earth's crust were hundreds of new organisms. These creatures are not found anywhere else on Earth and live in complete darkness. Click on the tab in order to access the YouTube video and the worksheet. The supplemental video provides some amazing footage of the vents.

Jellyfish Attack Japan (YouTube.com) The title of this segment seems like it was taken from a bad science fiction film but believe it or not its true. The nomura jellyfish is invading the fertile fishing grounds off the coast of Japan causing widespread panic and damage to one of Japan's most important sources of seafood. These large creatures have no central nervous system and are capable of producing a billion eggs at a time causing massive "blooms" of baby jellyfish. But what is causing this phenomenon and is there anything that man can do to stop this invasion? Watch the videos and learn more.

The Greenhouse and Global Climate Change (YouTube.com) If you were to interview a small crowd of people at the local mall and ask them to explain the Greenhouse Effect or define Global Climate Change, most people would be unable to do so. Many of us are familiar with these terms but really dont have a fundamental understanding of what they mean, their causes and how these phenomenon affect our daily lives. In addition, many people have grown so used to hearing about GCC that they have become insensitive to the reality that it is here to stay and is having a terrible impact on the environment and ultimately our quality of life.

Creative Writing Assignments (When being "bored" is just plain unacceptable!) These are a growing assortment of creative writing assignments that can be used for students with nothing to do, or as an emergency assignment. I will be adding to this list as we move through the school year.

The Chambered Nautilus (YouTube.com) The chambered nautilus (Nautilus pompilius) is a large, mobile cephalopod which is called a "living fossil" and has been the subject of poetry, artwork, math, and jewelry. They have even inspired the names of submarines and exercise equipment. These animals have been around for about 500 million years—even before the dinosaurs. These mysterious creatures occupy some of the deeper parts of the ocean and there is not a great deal of information about them. They are evolutionary marvels and they can provide us with clues as to how life evolved in the Devonian Ocean.

The Business of Trash (MSN.com) Every year, countries from all over the globe produce millions of tons of trash in a variety of shapes and sizes. Recycling man's garbage should be a popular and potentially profitable enterprise but is it? Finding a suitable resting place for some of this waste is challenging and very risky given the fact that our household garbage may contain chemicals and contaminents that are harmful to the environment and dangerous to our health. In this topic, we are looking at the handling of garbage from a different prospective- can a business make money processing garbage? Read on and find out.

Prehistoric Sharks! (Paleoworld) Long before dinosaurs walked the Earth, sharks were roaming the oceans. Their legacy has been traced back at least 420 million years which is quite amazing. They have been able to evolve as needed in order to survive. Scientists think that the most dramatic evolution of sharks took place during the Cretaceous period. During this time there was an abundance of food, sharks grow, and different species appeared. But studfying prehistoric sharks is challenging because their skeletons are made of cartilage which does not fossilize very easily. This 30 minutes segment of Paleoworld takes us back about 350 million years to begin our journey through the evolution of sharks.

How the Universe Works:The Big Bang Theory (YouTube) (46 min) Approximately 4.6 billion years ago, our planet Earth was formed through a series of violent collisions, explosive releases of thermal energy and a prolonged period of cooling and precipitation. The first atmosphere was toxic and consisted of sulfuric acid, ammonia, water vapor and other greenhouse gases. Life would not emerge onto dry land for several billion years. But how did this remarkable event occur in the first place? Was there a single atom or particle of matter from which the entire universe as we know it emerged? Eventually, the Big Bang Theory was born.